Omar C. Garcia

Amos 8

Amos 8:1-28:1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit [symbolized a completed harvest; summer fruit included grapes, dates, and figs; signaled the end of the growing season].

8:2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit [Heb. word qayis],” I answered. Then the LORD said to me, “The time is ripe [Heb. word qes (sounds like Heb. qayis) and means here “the end has come;” the season for repentance was now over] for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

Amos 8:11-128:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD [God would give the people what they wanted: no preaching or word from Him (cf. 2:11-12; 7:12-13,16); the prophets would be silent; God would leave the people alone].

8:12 Men will stagger [describes the anxious and unsteady gait of a person in search of a message from God] from sea to sea [possibly Dead Sea to Mediterranean Sea] and wander from north to east [along with “sea to sea” probably meant “everywhere” or “from one end of the world to the other” or may refer to the length and breadth of their own land], searching for the word [a message of hope, direction, instruction] of the LORD, but they will not find it [the people would find only silence].

Note• What makes people indifferent to the words of the Lord?• What makes people eager for His words?• Why is Bible reading and study so important?• How well do you take advantage of opportunities to hear from God?• How would your life be different if you did not have access to God’s Word?• Would you find it more difficult to live with a famine of watching TV or a famine of hearing the words of the Lord?